Sapulpa landmark to be restored
Article courtesy of the Sapulpa Daily Herald.

It's going to take a while -- and some money, too -- but eventually a 1920's-era filling station on the southwest corner of Lee and Water streets will give Sapulpans a window into the past.

The Sapulpa Historical Society has acquired the station, built circa 1923, and plans not only to restore it, but to have it placed on the National Register of Historic Places, said Doris Yocham, museum director.

"We're calling this our centennial project," Yocham said.

"We had mulled over some statues or bronzes somewhere and never quite felt comfortable with locations," Yocham said. "Then we found out this was going to be for sale in early December, we had a board meeting right away, and voted to buy it."

The station was originally a Waite Phillips filling station -- not to be confused with Phillips 66, which was started by Waite's brother, Frank Phillips.

"Waite was only in the retail end (of the oil business) for a couple of years," Yocham said.

The building, which until recently housed Durbin Locksmith, is believed to have been built some time in 1923, since city directories in prior years show no reference to it, according to Yocham.

The station operated under the Barnsdall and High Grade names and for many years was the Willard Battery Store.

A concrete-block building erected on the site by a dry-cleaning business will be torn down, and the remaining structure will be restored to look just as it did in the 1920s, Yocham said.

"We're are just so excited about taking it back (to its original look and feel)," said Yocham.

Sapulpa Main Street has voiced its willingness to assist the restoration with architectural and other services, but most of the project will be financed by grants and donations.

"We would like to fix it some way where we could display our fire truck, our delivery truck and the Bartlett car over there," Yocham said.

The building's exact future isn't known, but Yocham said she personally imagines a variety of historic gas station and automotive exhibits could be displayed there to give today's generation an idea of what it was like to visit an old-time filling station.

"Whatever we do, it will have a historical impact," she said.


Steven James 224-5185 Ext.200

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